Wilmington's Tidewater Financial hit for charging illegal fees

Thursday

Sep 19, 2013 at 2:41 PM

The attorney general filed suit last September

From staff reports

A Wilmington company is barred from charging illegal fees for help in lowering mortgage payments and avoiding foreclosure those activities and must pay refunds, the N.C. Attorney General's Office said Thursday.A Wake County Superior Court judge last week approved consent judgments against Tidewater Financial, of Wilmington, and Community Mortgage Assistance Program, of Charlotte.The attorney general filed suit last September against both firms for charging consumers illegal advance fees for mortgage loan modification services and then failing to provide them with meaningful help. It's illegal in North Carolina to charge an upfront fee for foreclosure assistance or loan modification services. Tidewater Financial and its owner, Elaine Madej, are barred from charging illegal advance fees and from any unfair or deceptive practices that violate North Carolina law and pay $8,200 in refunds, the Attorney General's Office said. A call Thursday to the number listed on Tidewater's web site found the phone disconnected. Community Mortgage Assistance Program and its owner, Koy Lynn Chiu, will pay $4,000 in refunds. If either defendant violates the court orders, they will owe $30,000 or more in civil penalties, the Attorney General's Office said.The complaint against Tidewater Financial filed last year alleged it charged homeowners $700 to $1,000 in upfront fees and promised consumers a "legal review" of their loan documents to determine whether lenders had violated state or federal law. However, no one with the company had legal expertise on lending laws, the Attorney General's Office said. The Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division received seven complaints about Tidewater Financial. According to one consumer's affidavit, Tidewater claimed it was working out a loan modification even as the consumer's home was sold at auction and his family was evicted by the sheriff.